Unit 13 The Light of Depression

Main idea

What is the story narrated in the text about?

This narrative essay narrates and describes an unusual and unforgettable phase of the writer’s life, during which she experienced deep depression, voluntarily received clinical treatment, conquered the illness in the end, and benefited a great deal from the experiences associated with her suffering.

Structural analysis

1. How are the events of the essay arranged?

The narration mostly follows a chronological order, but a few flashbacks are inserted in Paragraph 3 and 6.

2. Work out the structure of the text by completing the table.

Paragraph(s)	Main idea
1-3	It provides the background of the story, telling us about the writer and her family and her problem.
4-10	The writer related her experiences with deep depression, including her attitude and reactions to it, focusing on her positive attitude and how she got better and finally recovered.
11	It describes the writer’s mood and feeling on a moon-lit, starry night, and stresses that her deep depression had been worth it, for suffering had painted color into her life, and that she was thankful.

 

Key to the Exercises

 

Text comprehension

I. Decide which of the following best states the author’s purpose of writing.

A

 

II. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.

1. F        2. F        3. T        4. T        5. T     6. T     7. F

 

IV. Explain in your own words the following sentences.

1. I was the child my father took in his arms to hospital in the autumn after I graduated from college.

2. My parents knew, as a matter of fact, that any occasion of celebration, such as birthdays, Christmas or whatever, would drive me to wild excitement.

3. A life that used to be full of joy had become hopeless and gloomy.

4. It was time to be realistic with my condition and face it bravely.

 

Vocabulary

I. Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.

1.    my strong dad burst out crying

2.    searched

3.    indifference towards everyday chores

4.    pretending to be my old self

5.    stay away from

6.    made (the trees) look fresh and white

 

II. Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word or phrase taken from the box in its appropriate form.

1. juvenile      2. apathetic      3. stripped of      4. rummage      5. transcends    

6. remedy      7. admitted to     8. get rid of       9. depression    10. make up for

 

III. Choose a word or phrase that best completes each of the following sentences.

1-4 D A C B   5-8 D B A A

 

IV. Fill in each blank with one of the two words from each pair in its appropriate form and note the difference in meaning between them.

1. a. assumed    b. suppose     c. suppose      d. assume

2. a. leave      b. depart       c. departing     d. left

3. a. altered     b. change      c. change       d. altering

4. a. treated     b. remedy      c. remedy      d. treating  

 

V. Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense it is used.

1. young, youthful

2. involuntarily, unwillingly, reluctantly

3. dull, insensitive, unfeeling

4. cheering

5. prize, honour, accolade

6. cheerful, merry, joyful, jubilant

7. valueless, useless, futile

8. appear, emerge

 

VI. Rephrase each of the following sentences with the word given in brackets.

1.    Various organizations voluntarily helped raise money for the new operating theatre in that hospital.

2.    Football arouses a good deal of passion among its supporters.

3.    Strenuous efforts were made throughout the war to disguise the scale of civilian casualties.

4.    All in-patients must fill this form and sign it when they check out.

5.    WHO tries to diagnose the existing conditions of work in each participating country in order to draft a plan of action.

6.    He slipped into his pajamas and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

7.    After the band stopped playing, people drifted away in twos and threes.

8.    This mistake must be remedied immediately to prevent any further problems.

 

Grammar

I.

1. being        2. to accept     3. jogging      4. breaking     5. to arrive  

6. smoking      7. to operate    8. damaging    9. borrowing   10. to concentrate 

 

II.

1. to phone      2. paying       3. rubbing     4. to get        5. drinking   

6. to admire     7. to insult      8. getting      9. to inform    10. asking

 

III.

1. Having heard that the caves were dangerous, I didn’t like to go any further without a light.

2. Exhausted by his work, he threw himself on his bed.

3. Having removed all traces of his crime, the criminal left the building.

4. Thinking he must have made a mistake somewhere, he went through his calculations again.

5. People sleeping in the next room were awakened by the sound of breaking glass.

6. Infuriated by the interruptions, the speaker refused to continue.

7. Soaked to the skin, we eventually reached the station.

8. Becoming tired of my complaints about the programme, she turned it off.

9. Turning on the light, Mary was astonished at what she saw.

10. Addressing the congregation, he said he was sorry to see how few had come.

 

IV.

1.    go, am going, takes, costs

2.    talk, prefer

3.    got, washed, shaved, got, didn’t hear, heard, made

4.    is being painted, isn’t looking

5.    want, tells, says, thinks

6.    has been, used, rode, have had

7.    is

8.    haven’t seen, have you been, have been, had meant, didn’t have, Did you have, were, was, enjoyed, skied, danced

 

V.

wrote, asking, replied, enclosing, filled, returned, have heard, am beginning, has gone, have received, have received/ received, haven’t decided, should/ would be, would tell, has been, should/ would like, don’t get, shall/will have, do, shall/will have

 

Translation

I. Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1. 在我的一生中，当世界正对我敞开胸怀的时候，我却发现自己在退缩。

2. 事实上，我父母发现：每逢有人过生日、圣诞节以及任何值得庆祝的场合都会让我极其兴奋。

3. 他们以为那只不过是周末过后一时的忧郁不欢罢了，因此深信只要我努力不让自己感到郁闷，我就会“好起来”的。

4. 我更进一步地明白了自己是谁：我是一个年轻女子，需要得到爱是为了自己，并非为了所能奉献的东西------并非为了能让你有怎样的感觉。

 

II. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. The airport authorities request that every passenger keep an eye on his/her own belongings.

2. Although he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, he still took an optimistic attitude toward life.

3. His teacher advised him not to eat so much junk food.

4. With a high sense of responsibility, the teacher gave his life in order to save his students.

5. His comrades did whatever they could for his release from the prison, and they succeeded.

6. The sudden financial tsunami has stripped quite a number of people of their property.

7. My secretary is looking for this or that all the time, for she is always misplacing her things.

8. After drifting into the woods, he was greatly amazed at the scene in front of him.

9.So far no effective remedy for the addiction to the Internet has been found.

10. In view of the serious employment situation, many university graduates voluntarily go and work in the remote areas.

 

Integrated skills

I. Dictation

For a lot of people, / the word “failure” carries with it / a feeling of coming to an end, / but for the successful leader, / failure is a beginning, / a seed of hope. / Leaders don’t allow themselves / to be held prisoner by the fear of failure. / They don’t even use the word ”failure,”. / instead they rely on words like “false start, / never failure.”/

The lesson understood by captains of industry / is that failure equals learning. / While we can’t say that they exactly welcome failure, / they are uniform in their ability to profit from it. / They use the healthy energy coming from failure / to reach higher goals. / Almost every “false step” is regarded as an opportunity / and not as the end of the world.

 

II. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE word you think appropriate.

1. not        2. followed    3. even      4. Since          5. yet  

6. faced      7. hospitals    8. widely     9. maintained    10. Without

 

Writing

Rewrite the following sentences to achieve greater emphasis in the way suggested in the brackets.

1. Emphatic: Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

2. Emphatic: He who loses money loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; and he who loses his mind loses all.

3. Emphatic: Good friends are those who care about each other, cherish each other, and help each other.

4. Emphatic: Professor Brown will give us a lecture.

5. Emphatic: If you want to learn advanced science and technology from foreign countries, you must have a good command of at least one foreign language.

6. Emphatic: Under no circumstances will we give up the plan.

7. Emphatic: No force on earth can hold back the progress of this society.

8. Emphatic: If ever you give me another chance, I will do it better.

9. Emphatic: Nothing under the sun can satisfy that greedy man.

10. Emphatic: It will not be you who will have to take the blame for this.

 

Listening

Simply to Relax

A. Listen to a radio program called Faith Radio Online – Simply to Relax. Do as the speaker suggests while listening. And then answer the following two questions

1. Why do we need to relax?

l  We are spending too much time on   our jobs   and   extra tasks in life  .

l  We need to   slow down   and   reassess   what we’re doing and why.

2. What are the benefits of relaxation?

Relaxation brings us:

l    peace of mind  ;

l  a   calm emotional state   of being;

l    improved health  ;

l    increased energy  ;

l    far less stress   held within the body.

 

B. Listen again. Focus on Faith’s instructions. Supply the missing words.

1. Take  a deep, slow breath , taking in  as much air as  you can,  as slowly as  you can.

2. Feel your lungs fill, and then   hold the breath for five to ten seconds  .

3. Let your breath out slowly, feeling   the stress leave your body   as you   exhale  .

4. Allow your mind to   focus   on the breathing.

5. Take in another deep breath,   slowly   and   surely  .

6.   Hold it for five to ten seconds  , and then exhale slowly … slowly … slowly.

7. Take another deep breath,   very slowly  , and   hold it in  .

8.   Release it slowly   and feel the tension leave your   body   with the   air  .

9. Do this   ten to fifteen   times.